Bilbo stared in utter disbelief at the Dwarves in his home, mouth half open, eyes wide, and his eyes lingered on the sole female of the group. It was odd enough having a large company of hungry, loud, boisterous Dwarves in his home, but to see a female Dwarf was rare enough and now there was one in his home, sat at his kitchen table beside a young, dark haired Dwarf that couldn't tear his eyes from her. Her eyes were focused on Thorin Oakenshield, who'd insulted Bilbo the second he'd stepped foot in Bilbo's home, and there was utter respect in her expression.

Everything had changed the moment Thorin had entered Bag End. The teasing had stopped. The laughter had silenced. The happy, jovial atmosphere had been replaced with solemnity. Even the soft smiles between Kili and Ovila had disappeared and they were careful not to touch each other. They were sat close, though, and Bilbo noticed that Thorin's attention also drifted to them more often than not. His expression always softened just a little when his eyes fell on the couple, even as his voice was stern and brisk and he explained the perils of travelling to Erebor and the rewards that would come from regaining the mountain from Smaug.

Grave expressions filled the faces of everyone and Bilbo gulped slightly. The atmosphere was tense, a heaviness hanging over the room, but there was hope too and he could practically smell their excitement for the journey to come. Everyone, he noticed, but Ovila looked ready to leap into action and there was no eagerness for this quest in any part of her. She was afraid. She hid it well, but Bilbo could see it behind the hardness in her gaze and he wondered why she was there if she was so scared. Was she afraid of the dragon? Somehow, Bilbo doubted that. She never seemed far from a weapon and she held a confident ease to her, which seemed so out of place amongst all of these males.

"Mr Baggins, you needn't worry about your home and possessions on this journey," Thorin suddenly stated and Bilbo jerked, blinking at him in confusion. "Ovila is to stay here and keep everything safe and in order," he explained and waved a hand at the female, who inclined her head politely with a slight smile that might have been to reassure the Hobbit. "You have my word that she is good and trustworthy and any robbers will regret choosing Bag End upon meeting her axe."

"Or knife," Fili added cheekily and Ovila reached over Kili to jab him in the ribs with two fingers, but her lips were twitching.

"Or fists," Kili supplied with a grin and Ovila elbowed him lightly, a slight smile forming.

"Or that look she gets," Ori continued and she glowered at him.

"That one!" Bofur crowed, pointing at her. "That one right there!"

"Enough," Thorin barked and the laughter silenced, even as Ovila succeeded in wrenching Bofur's ridiculous hat over his face, halfway across the table to do so. "Ovila, sit down," Thorin sighed and she obediently dropped into her seat with a smug, satisfied smirk. "Balin, have you the contract for Mr Baggins?"

"Aye, I do," Balin nodded and withdrew the contract for Bilbo. "Here you go, just sign on the dotted line."

"Don't look at it too closely," Ovila advised and Kili and Fili laughed, but all three swiftly sobered at a look from Thorin. "Sorry, Master Thorin," she said quietly and Bilbo had a feeling she didn't wholly mean it as he took the contract and began to read it.

His brows furrowed in thought, his lips pressed into a thin line, and the Dwarves and Gandalf watched in silence as he paced and muttered to himself. "Decapitation?"

"Oh."

"Laceration?"

"He's got there."

"Incineration?!"

"On account of the fire breathing dragon."

"Bofur!" Ovila scolded, standing, and she stunned everyone by approaching Bilbo, who was swaying dangerously on the spot. "Bilbo?" she said cautiously and laid a hand on his shoulder. She was taller than him, but not by much, and she looked much softer and prettier up close. "Bilbo, are you alright?"

"Yes," Bilbo squeaked and her eyebrows inched up her forehead. "I'm fine."

"Just think furnace with wings," Bofur provided helpfully and Ovila sent him a livid look over her shoulder, feeling a shudder run through the Halfling.

"Bilbo?" she said warily and he swayed again beneath her hand.

"Nope," he gasped and Ovila's arms hooked around him before he hit the ground.

"Bofur, I'm going to kill you."

With hearty chuckles, Fili and Kili moved to help the struggling blonde and Ovila felt uncharacteristic worry twisting in her chest. Normally, she'd be having a chuckle with her friends, but she found herself brewing their host some tea whilst Gandalf waited for him to wake in the cosy living room. A frown was on her face and she sent Bofur a dark glare as she went into the living room and offered Bilbo a smile upon finding him conscious. He smiled back hesitantly and gratefully took the tea, but he was glad when she left to find her friends.

What really surprised Bilbo was that, minutes after her departure, shouting echoed through his little hobbit hole and it sounded as though Ovila was thoroughly scolding Bofur. Bilbo almost jumped out of his skin at the unfamiliar sounds ringing through his normally quiet home and he felt almost grateful for her support, but she wouldn't be joining him on this quest. She would be left to look after his home and, honestly, he didn't really like the thought of having a stranger poking through his belongings, but he doubted even Lobelia Sackville-Baggins would be able to stand against Ovila. It would be unstoppable force meeting immoveable object and, honestly, Bilbo would almost like to see that confrontation.

"Apologise to Bilbo or I'll stuff that hat somewhere the sun don't shine Bofur!"

Bilbo couldn't quite stop himself from smiling.

Only Ovila remained when Bilbo awoke the next day and she was packing her things, but seemed distracted and out of sorts. There was none of the determined young lady that'd had Bofur mumbling out an apology the previous night, but instead a nervous one that fiddled with her silver and pearl necklace and bit her bottom lip. There was fear in her eyes and worry along with it, though she tried to hide it when she greeted Bilbo and told him she would be leaving for Belegost when she was sure she had everything. Her fingers tugged at her necklace and at a complicated braid just behind her left ear, her eyes distant. She kept staring off into the distance and stopping what she was doing.

"You were going to go with them, weren't you?" Bilbo blurted out and Ovila looked at him, surprise touching her face. "But you stayed, why? Why are you still here?"

"I've been forbidden from joining them on the quest on account of my relationship with Kili," Ovila answered in her usual, blunt manner and a sulky look took over her face. "They're honourable, you know," she said and it was Bilbo's turn to be surprised. She sighed and moved to stand in front of him, tilting her head down to meet his wide, brown eyes. He reminded her of a child. "They're loud and irritating and they're not very polite, but they're loyal and good and kind, in their own little way," she smiled fondly and her voice was warm and soft. "You won't meet a better group of friends, even though you'll wish they'd just mind their own damn business most of the time."

"I'm not an adventurer," Bilbo argued and Ovila laughed slightly.

"Oh, Bilbo, what's the point in drawing maps if you never experience the places you draw? What's the point in reading about adventures in books if you never experience those adventures yourself? What's the point in being here if you waste your days doing nothing and being alone?" she replied and closed her pack, buckling it firmly. "Bilbo, I don't know much, apart from how to swing an axe and throw a knife, but I do know that sitting by and watching the rest of the world go on and watching everyone else go off and do things and have fun is the worst feeling in the world."

Bilbo's mouth fell open, moving soundlessly, and Ovila gave his shoulder a light pat. She tossed her pack onto her shoulder and her blonde hair swept around her face, but she pushed it away impatiently. He watched her in silence as she swung her axes onto her back, another two at her hips, and slid some knives into the holsters at her thighs. There was nothing soft or gentle about the female and she was so unlike the Hobbit women Bilbo knew. She was hard and dangerous and lethal and nothing like anything Bilbo was used to and, honestly, he was in awe of her as much as he was intimidated by her.

"Wait!" Bilbo cried before Ovila could exit and she paused and looked at him, one eyebrow lifting in silent question. "Which – which way would they have gone?" he asked in a slight wavering tone and Ovila smiled slightly.

"Follow the path to Bree, Bilbo, and you'll soon find them," she promised and looked over him critically, dropping her pack to the ground with a loud thud. "You can run, can't you?" she smirked and he frowned, mildly insulted. She grinned in return, a laugh bubbling from her throat, and she hooked an arm through his. "Just teasing, Bilbo, now let's get you all packed up and going, hm? Or you'll never catch up to them."

"Thank you," Bilbo managed as he was dragged along and Ovila smiled at him kindly.

It didn't take long for Ovila to have the necessities that Bilbo needed packed into a large rucksack, instructing him in a clear, calm, concise voice, and he followed her orders. She looked like she knew what she was talking about at any rate and there didn't seem to be any point in arguing with her. It didn't seem like anyone was allowed to argue with her, unless they were called Thorin Oakenshield and had forbidden her from joining the quest. Bilbo bit his bottom lip slightly at the thought of the King Under the Mountain and risked another glance at Ovila, who was folding some handkerchiefs for him.

"May – may I ask about you and Kili?" he asked haltingly and Ovila looked at him with clear surprise in her hazel eyes, but a smile softened her incredibly. "You are betrothed, aren't you?"

"Yes, we'll marry when they've regained Erebor," she answered quietly and packed the handkerchiefs into a side pocket of his pack. "It's a rather long story, Bilbo, and you've a rather long journey ahead of you," she stated and buckled the rucksack firmly. "Ask Kili, or Fili," she smirked and steered Bilbo to the door with a hand on his shoulder. "Fili loves taunting Kili about the early stages of his attraction towards me and doesn't miss a chance to."

"O – Oh," Bilbo blinked and Ovila opened the door for him. "Won't you come with me? Just until we find them?" he asked hopefully and she hesitated.

"My orders were to stay here, Bilbo, should you choose to join them," she said slowly and Bilbo bit his bottom lip and looked out over Hobbiton. "You'll be fine," she promised and gave him a gentle push out of the door. "They won't have gone far and there are no dangers between here and them, so get going before there will be dangers," she teased lightly and Bilbo cast a final look over his home.

Then, he ran.

Ovila couldn't help but smile, because, honestly, she didn't think the Hobbit could run that fast, especially not with his little legs and big feet. She watched until he was out of sight and then closed the door. Her eyes swept over the unfamiliar, foreign home, and she felt incredibly out of place. This home was small and warm and cosy for gentle folk and kind beings, but she was anything but. She was used to the harsh, sharp, square structures that built up Belegost and she was as hard and as unyielding as stone. She didn't belong in Hobbiton in the gentle, rolling hills and the soft, circular homes, like the one she was supposed to protect and keep safe in its owner's absence.

No, Ovila didn't belong here and, yet, she had to stay and she sort of hated Thorin for confining her here.